Courtesy of Alex CobernA crowd gathered outside the White House late Sunday and early Monday after word spread that Osama bin Laden had been killed.

WASHINGTON, D.C. — The news that Osama bin Laden was dead came to
Kalamazoo-native Alex Cobern from his roommate, a Navy intelligence
officer who roused Cobern from bed with the surprising news.

The
26-year-old lives in Washington, D.C., 10 blocks from the White House,
and after watching the President Barack Obama’s televised remarks, he joined the
crowd gathered outside the building’s perimeter.

"There were hundreds and hundreds of people out there, which was surprising," said Cobern, who arrived at the White House a little after midnight.

Cobern said he comes from a Christian background and it was a strange feeling to be amid a celebration of someone’s death.

“And it was a real celebration out there,” he said of scene in which
hundreds of mostly college-age people sang patriotic songs, waved American flags and continuously
honked car horns.

“Obviously I think the world is better without
this person. I don’t feel like I’m actively celebrating but I do mourn
for what happened (on Sept. 11) and I hope it brings some closure to
some families,” said Cobern, who works at Georgetown University.

“I think people are always going to feel
the pain of that day. But I hope it does bring some comfort that
justice was brought upon this person,” Cobern said.

Cobern said he also thought about how the world would have responded to a bin Laden captured alive and put on trial.

Amid worldwide economic strain and two U.S.-led wars, he said a trial "would be too much."

“I think it would bring back a lot of memories and be pretty drawn out," Cobern said. "Somehow how I think it was the better outcome."